Death Blooms

I found this on my computer. It was a story I started writing to work on more descriptive writing. I didn't write much before moving on. Maybe sharing will inspire me to keep going.

 

 

Death Blooms

By: J.McNay

 

 

Dark for fear of failure an inner gloom as wide as an eye and
fermenting roiling hate death grip in my veins unveiling rancid
petals flowering forth foul nectar the space between a blink and a
tear
...death blooms.

 

 

Do you think people can ever really change Thomas? He asked me while looking out the small shoe box size window in his cell. I would like to think so, I answered not entirely sure if I believed it myself. Why do you ask? I wondered, not expecting a wholly truthful answer. When I was growing up people would often say that to me "people can change" I was curious if anyone believed such a thing, he said with a little smirk. In my mind I thought why he would ask that now so close to the end for him, was he seeking some redemption for what he has done or was he just asking a random question? No never random, nothing with him ever is, even something small he plans with a great amount of thought beforehand. His name is Jack Kelly and I have been talking with him for about two months now while writing for the local paper. The scoop of the century given to a small town columnist makes one feel kind of special. Normally I get stuck with things like the traffic report or what’s happening on your farm or the ever popular Chicken Festival coverage, but with Jack I was able to do something our small paper had never done before, get a story of a killer from the killer in his own words. I know that sounds dark but the idea of getting inside of his head fascinated me. I find myself wanting to know why he did what he did, and to see if behind his cold eyes there is more to him, perhaps even remorse for his crimes. 

 

Thinking there could be any compassion in a monster like him was probably foolish, but never the less I intended to find out. One minute Jack is living his life care free and fun the next bodies are turning up all over the county. What happened? Why did a normal man seem to just well snap and become something terrifying. From what I gathered before meeting with Jack I couldn't figure it out. I searched high and low for a reason, maybe a death in the family could have triggered it I thought but the people closest to Jack were all alive and well. So what then? Why? All questions I intended to ask during our first meeting. Turns out all my planning fell apart when our first meeting took place.

 

 

Chapter 1 �" A Chance Encounter

 

       August 5, 2007 The day had arrived, my first meeting was set for 10:00 am. Sitting in my small apartment staring at the alarm clock, time seeming to slow to a crawl. I stared at the ceiling wondering if I should even go, am I ready to learn things that may very well haunt me? I was aware of Jacks' crimes from stories I read over the years where he was called  (Nickname), due to the way he left his victims after their untimely end. He was called this because he would exenterate the medical term for completely removing the victims eyes. To this day police have yet to locate the eyes of his victims. Why the eyes? I wondered and thinking these things about what he did made me uneasy to say the least. After taking a nice shower and downing about half a bottle of Pepto Bismol, I was ready to head to the interview.

 

         Traffic was lighter than normal for Sunday, usually the streets were packed with people heading to mass or to watch the game. Not today streets seemed calm maybe I thought there would have been some sense of commotion, but it was probably my nerves. As I pulled up to the precinct where Jack was being held I noticed news vans from all over were outside with reports being given about me of all people. Getting mobbed at my car by reporters was certainly a new thing for me, I felt like a celebrity for a minute. That quickly faded with questions coming from all directions about me and what I was doing, I did my best to answer without giving too much mostly because I really wasn't sure myself. Thankfully I was escorted the rest of the way to the building and past the sea of reporters. Once inside it was a different world, you could feel the unease and tension in the air. 

 

       Past all of the cameras and questions the mood was drastically different when I entered the precinct. I couldn't tell if they despised me for what I was about to do, or like most people wanted me to finish so the world would be rid of Jack. Either way I felt  like everyone there was looking at me, not a super friendly environment to walk into. I was told to head upstairs and meet with Chief Riggs to get briefed on the way things were going to happen when I met with Jack. I headed upstairs each step looking around the precinct, it seemed no one was working just fixed on what I was doing. When I reached the top of the stairs I saw his office, so I walked over to it and knocked. He opened the door and unlike everyone else in the building he didn't seem to dislike me for what I was doing in his precinct. So I introduced my self, pleasure to meet you I'm Thomas Dono... but before I could finish he stopped me. “I don't care who you are to be quite honest”, Frankly I’m not thrilled about you being here. I do however understand you're here to do a job, I can respect that. Thank you sir I replied I mean no disrespect to you or your officers by being here. He shook his head almost as if he only half believed me.

 

 

       As we sat and talked about the procedures of being in a room with Jack, I decided to ask him if there was anything he would like me to ask Jack? “Me? What would I ask that son of a b***h? Only thing I'd ask him is injection or chair. I'm kidding of course he chuckled if its possible he deserves both. That's besides the point as he went on explaining the procedures. Most were simple like don't give him anything, don't relay any info for him, and other basic tips to protect me from his possible manipulation. All of which sounded pretty easy to remember, he assured me Jack would be restrained so I would be safe which made me feel more at ease.

 

       Ready to meet your prom date kid? He said as he laughed and had me follow him to where jack was being held. Where Jack was held was a sort of modified basement in the precinct they liked to call the dungeon. Looking at it I can see it's dungeon like qualities, from the thick walls that looked like a concrete and brick mash up. The shoe box sized window let Jack look out on the world he would never fully experience again, even if only a few inches from the ground. Two guards were posted outside of Jack's door with what I can only assume was riot gear, each looked like a statue with a shotgun. Walking closer towards the door Chief Riggs gave me one last warning “don't get close to him. Even though he's restrained I don't trust him” A nice thing to say before I walked in.

 

       As the door opened it creaked as if it doesn't get opened very often, “good luck kid” Riggs said as he started to walk back upstairs to his office. I leaned to look inside the room I had been warned to be ever so careful of. There was Jack sitting in a chair behind a table with his head looking up almost like he was daydreaming. The only light in the room other than the little sunlight from the window was a rusty looking light hanging from the ceiling, the light flickered and swayed, again the namesake of this place was apparent. As I pulled the chair out and put my things on the table I noticed Jack glaring at me, sizing me up to see what I was made of. He looked back down with a small almost unnoticeable smile.

 

       Mr. Kelly my name is Thomas Donovan, so what can I do for you? I waited for a response, so many different things running through my mind. All of the Chiefs rules and all the stories I had read, sitting in silence was nerve racking. He lifted his head and started to stared at me, After about 5 minutes he uttered call me Jack. I let out a silent sigh of relief at that point, knowing that the ice had cracked a little. Why did you ask for me? I'm a nobody out here my biggest success was winning an award for my festival coverage. “Well” he replied taking only a minute or so to respond this time, “when I first got here I got to read some of your material in the paper my one luxury I have. I liked what I read and how it was written so I decided to tell you my story so you can make it as good as the Chicken Fest. Since I can only tell it and you can write it seemed like the thing to do at the time”. I thought to myself should I just walk out and put this behind me? I don't know anything yet I can leave with a clean slate, then Jack said something that made me want to stay. He said “I just want someone to hear it from me not from people who don't know”. I couldn't tell if he was being sincere or messing with me but I decided to stick it out and hear what Jack had to say.

Author's Note

I haven't had a chance to proofread anything, I just found in on my computer. Like it or dislike it let me know as I look forward to improving it.